Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Honor Roll: 2010...

Admit one please...

And here I am with my annual list of the the Top Ten films I enjoyed in 2010...

So, first off as always, this is just my opinion, my taste and my choices. There were plenty of films that came out this year that I liked, some I loved, but these are the ones I'll be getting Blu-Rays of. That means I really enjoyed them enough to put down cold, hard cash. Now, on with my film list for the year of the year that was:

#10 Tron Legacy - I know this film had a lot of negativity surrounding it coming out of the gate. It has flaws, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and the evolving world that TRON had become. It's not been as big a hit as the Mouse had hoped, but it's been a steady trooper at the box office over the last few weeks and is doing well overseas. A sequel/tv series? Depends on final numbers for B.O., DVD/Blu-Ray and merchandise, but I definitely want to return to the grid. Time will tell.

#9 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - A truly modern, teen fairy tale. Scott Pilgrim was a beautifully crafted gift to film lovers everywhere. Michael Cera was born to play this role. Everything from the cast to the script to the direction was top notch. I have a feeling this one is going to become a cult classic.

#8 The Expendables - I loved the heck out of this film. Is it perfect? No, but it's so much fun. A classic example of an 80's action film brought into the the 21st century. Stallone has proven to be a better director than an actor and I look forward to the day he directs a film he doesn't star in. Oh, and I look forward to "The Expendables 2."

#7 Harry Potter: The Deathly Hollows - I love how the young wizard series is getting steadily darker and more complex. "The Prisoner of Azkaban" was my favorite before this one, but following these characters through their childhood to becoming an adult has been a pleasure. I can't wait for the conclusion.

#6 How To Train Your Dragon - DreamWorks Animation has made some good films and some bad films. Along the way they've made a few great ones. This is one of those. While I still think "Kung Fu Panda" is their only Pixar quality film, Dragon comes mighty close. It's my second favorite film from the studio and if more of Jeffrey's films are like Panda and Dragon then the Lamp and Mouse will have major competition.

#5 Tangled - Walt Disney Animation Studios is moving up. Last year "TPATF" got up to number eleven. This years film not only made it into the top ten, it got into the top five. "Tangled" is the best Disney animated film since the end of the Second Golden Age a decade and a half ago. I look forward to having more films like it.

#4 Kick Ass - Most people mistook this film for an action film. It wasn't, although it had a lot of action. It was a comedy. A brutal, bloody comedy. A great adaptation of the comic. Matthew Vaughn is one of those new directors that I look forward to following. He's one of the people that "get" how to adapt a comic into a film. I don't know if there will be a sequel, but there should be.

#3 Toy Story 3 - Pixar can do no wrong. Even their worst films are better than 90% of all films out there. When I go into a theater to watch one of the Lamp's films I know I'll get my moneys worth. This was a great conclusion to the best trilogy of films ever. There was more heart, emotion and depth in the first ten minutes of this film than almost any film this year.

#2 The Social Network - David Fincher is a genius and an amazing film maker. Putting him in charge of a script by Aaron Sorkin is a brilliant stroke of art and business. I can only hope that Scott Z. Burns script for the 20k remake is as good. This film is a pearcing take on how one man created a new way for the world to interact and how it can almost cost you your soul, and sometimes does.

#1 Inception - Christopher Nolan is like the human version of Pixar. The man can do no wrong. The words "bad Chris Nolan film" have never come out of my mouth. This incredibly complex sci-fi take on who we are and what are dreams make of us was an amazing film to watch. With each scene I just kept thinking to myself: "please do Batman 3." The world that Nolan creates is so facinating and filled with interesting, flawed characters that you want to watch. Just like all Nolan's films.

Runner Ups (in no particular order, mostly):

The Town

Shutter Island

The Infidel

Harry Brown

Get Him to the Greek

Legends of the Guardians

Four Lions

Red

Monsters

The Illusionist

Again, there were many films I like which didn't get on the list. That doesn't mean they weren't any good, it simply means I preferred something else just a bit more. I must admit that there were a lot of films that I was looking forward to this year that didn't make the list and were actually nowhere near my top ten. Films like life are filled with surprises.

30 comments:

Nice list, HH - I'm especially happy to see so much love for Scott Pilgrim, which is probably the most overlooked movie of the year. (Ebert didn't even bother reviewing it.)

I'd add two late-season films as well. True Grit will probably be seen as a minor Coen Brothers film, but it's a pure pleasure, and it featured three really great performances by the leads.

Also, Black Swan was really something. It's a psychotic break from the inside out, wrapped in a meditation on art and artists, stuffed inside a chair-gripping body-horror flick. (It should also win every sound-editing award in existence.)

And in case you wonder why certain films like "Black Swan," "The Town," "Kick-A**," or "The King's Speech" are not on this list, it's because I don't really tend to see R-rated movies in theaters much, if at all. I am not seeing the former three of those four movies AT ALL, but I will probably watch "The King's Speech" when it comes out on DVD.

"I'd add two late-season films as well. True Grit will probably be seen as a minor Coen Brothers film, but it's a pure pleasure, and it featured three really great performances by the leads. "

Honestly, I saw a lot of films last year, but I haven't seen "True Grit" yet. The holidays were filled with too many things and I never got around to it. I expect it to be good, it's the Coens of course. I'm seeing it Friday, btw.

Darrell, I know it's coming out, I was referring to when I saw "Inception" Nolan hadn't committed to the film yet.

1. The Expendables? Really? That was probably the worst film I saw all year. The plot, what there was of one, was flimsy and worse of all, the action was incredibly pedestrian. The only saving grace was Terry Crews and his gun. Horrible film.

2. Megamind better than How to Train your Dragon? Surely, you can't be serious? Megamind was far more typical of the film that Dreamworks has been derided of in the past. HTTYD was the best animated film, and possibly the best film, I've seen all year.

3. Toy Story 3 is actually a tad bit overrated. The film is way to similar to the previous films, particularly the second one. Everything from the basic plot of another escape plan to another angry neglected toy to the toys realizing that their time with Andy is fleeting to the opening action scene were all redundant of the superior and far more original first sequel.

Other than that, pretty good list. I think the Nolan fawning is a little thick. Good director, but The Dark Knight is an incredibly flawed film. Hope part 3 is an improvement. Also, like that you put Tron:Legacy on your list. Very underrated. Probably the one time I can unequivocally use the cliche "roller coaster ride" for a movie. Stunning in IMAX 3D.

I don't have a top ten. I barely have a top five. So many movies on your list didn't make it to mine. I'm sorry. There aren't many good movies last year. Your list seems so fanboyish (mostly action and adventure genre). It won't be the same list that critics will have.

I will say, Toy Story 3 was not my favorite. It's a good movie, but not great.

I saw True Grit and thought it was boring. It doesn't take an actor of Jeff Bridges talent to play a drunken bum. I can understand why John Wayne fans are upset. It is so overrated. People are drunk on the hype and because it is new but years from now it will be forgettable and people will see it for what it really is, just another pointless remake.

Yes, really. It's like an 80's action film. Have you seen the plots to many 80's action films? It was fun and really enjoyable fluff.

"2. Megamind better than How to Train your Dragon?"

You and I are in agreement on this. A commenter suggested this, not me.

"3. Toy Story 3 is actually a tad bit overrated. The film is way to similar to the previous films, particularly the second one."

Totally disagree with you. I think it's absolutely great and odds of a third film being as good as this one turned out to be are quite high. As for being like the previous films? I think it's the opposite. The first two films were "Rescue films" where they had to save someone (Buzz in the first, Woody in the second), the third one is a prison break film like many late 60's/early 70's films where they had to break out.

Everyone who bags on The Expendables obviously missed the point. It was supposed to be a salute to the cheeseball 80's action films. Of course it had no plot. Who cares? All we want to see are these badass men kicking ass and taking names. Sly delivered. If you want pandering and pretentious acting and drama go watch the Social Network a movie that sucks up to the Academy and screams "Gimme the Oscar!"

I'm not particularly interested in John Wayne as an actor or a cultural signifier, so that could be part of my problem, addled as I am by liberal elite film-critic hype. But I am a huge fan of Charles Portis, who wrote the book True Grit, and this version is much more true to the source material, which didn't benefit from the previous adaptation's changes.

I'm sorry you weren't able to get more out of the movie, and I hope you find ten bucks on the sidewalk someday and it makes you feel less stressed.

Hey, I don't judge an actor based on how liberal he is. If I did there would be no movie I liked, because most actors are liberal. Same with the few conservative actors out there. Everyone has their opinion, but I think the work should be judged on the work.

I always thought that being liberal meant being open minded to things? Some of the most closed minded people I've met happen to be liberal. I will agree with JeffK in being a huge fan of Portis though.

"first off as always, this is just my opinion, my taste and my choices. There were plenty of films that came out this year that I liked, some I loved, but these are the ones I'll be getting Blu-Rays of."

Honor never claimed to be a critic, in fact he's stopped writing reviews because he said he wasn't a reviewer. But I guess you missed that?

"Inception is one of the most incoherent bombastic pretentious films in years."

Appalling. Simply appalling. You're wrong. Even if you don't think you are, the world disagrees with you.

"Toy Story 3 is overrated, anything that Pixar makes is herald by critics and everyone else before it even comes out in theaters, all these poor poor sheeple!"

It's herald by critics and everyone else because it's great. Did you even see TS3? It's not their best work, but the climax/ending are some of the most incredible stuff I've seen in the history of cinema.

Either you're just trying to start an argument, or you have absolutely no taste in movies.

"It's like an 80's action film. Have you seen the plots to many 80's action films? It was fun and really enjoyable fluff."

It really wasn't. Would you have put Cobra, Commando, Raw Deal or any other cheesy 80's films on your best-of lists from their respective years? The best action films of the 80's transcended their inherent silliness. Films like Predator, Die Hard, and First Blood come to mind. They had tremendous action sequences and characters we cared about. The Expendables had none of those things. Can't remember the names of any of the team. The set-pieces were not remotely well conceived or shot. Plus, it seemed like they spent an eternity on some story involving their mid-age crisis. Who cares? Terrible film.

"Honor never claimed to be a critic, in fact he's stopped writing reviews because he said he wasn't a reviewer. But I guess you missed that?"

He is a critic. What do you think his top ten list means? He has detailed reasons (reviews) for buying the Blu-Ray Discs. Although he claims he will "put down cold hard cash", he already did it at the theater.

You need to take a break from your hyperventilating.

"You discredit yourself with that statement."

Amazing. So everything who likes good movies must perceive Toy Story 3 as Great?!!! Or what? TS3 is overrated as others have said.

"Either you're just trying to start an argument, or you have absolutely no taste in movies."

This is another huh? Okay, how about just being honest. Not everyone LOVES Toy Story 3. No argument will make them love it.

"It's like an 80's action film. Have you seen the plots to many 80's action films? It was fun and really enjoyable fluff."

Here is where I have to say, its Expendables greatest weakness.

It's a well done and executed movie, but it is not Picasso. It is classic A-Team without the remake A-Team failure. If they want to make a great movie, aim higher.

"Shutter Island" anywhere NEAR the top ten? Wow. That film was recycled junk. Scorcese picking up a paycheck. The story's been done a hundreds of times before, at least a dozen times better on Hitchcock's TV show and The Twilight Zone.

"It's herald by critics and everyone else because it's great. Did you even see TS3? It's not their best work, but the climax/ending are some of the most incredible stuff I've seen in the history of cinema.

Either you're just trying to start an argument, or you have absolutely no taste in movies"Sheeple is as sheeple does. If you haven't figured it out yet, as most people haven't, they are sheeple. :p

Hey if you don't like Nolan, that's your business but incredibly flawed is a very broad term for someone you don't like.

As for Kick-Ass, I didn't realize it was meant as a teaching tool. It's an entertaining story. It wasn't meant to instill virtue in people and I don't worry about little girls seeing it because it wasn't made for them. There is a reason it's rated "R" and if a parent is stupid enough to bring a little kid to this film it says more about that parent than it does about that film.

Have fun going to see Merchant Ivory films, they're just not my cup of tea.

Honor Hunter is such a gigantic tool. Always has been, and always will be. Nolan is incredibly overrated, Inception is interesting but incoherent. That's done on purpose because Nolan shrouds everything in mystery to pretend it's good.